DANA HOWARD
PRESIDENT / CEO

Education M.A. Education, B.A. Speech Communications - University of Illinois-Champaign 

 

Training 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER); PowerSafe Training; First Aid/CPR Training; Loss Prevention System; Metro Tier 1 Training 

 

Certifications OSHA 10-Hour Construction 

 

Executive Profile 

Mr. Dana Howard is the President/CEO and Founder of Zade LLC (Zade). He sets the long-term goals and objectives for Zade. As President/CEO he is responsible for the overall operation and direction of Zade. His objective is to provide guidance and develop opportunities for the growth of Zade. Mr. Howard is a hands-on President/CEO and owner who is involved in the daily operations of the company. He has more than 15 years of construction experience and prior to founding Zade, he was a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley and Dean Witter. The combined experiences of the construction industry and the financial world helped Mr. Howard to found Zade LLC in 2009. Since the start of Zade, construction-oriented staff has grown every year and has recently included the addition of engineers, scientists, and other professional staff to address the specific needs of the growing list of clients and their projects. Mr. Howard’s leadership and executive management has him overseeing company operations, finances, sales/marketing, business development, strategic planning, client relations, and site activities. Mr. Howard also initiates marketing and sales efforts to procure private-sector, local government, and federal government contracts. In addition to what Zade has to offer, there have been two separate companies created for electrical transmission and distribution services and trucking that Mr. Howard also oversees. 

Under Mr. Howard's leadership and direction, Zade has grown to a company with 15 full-time employees, 25 project-specific employees, and an estimated annual revenue of $15M. Recent significant projects that Zade has undertaken include: 

• National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) - Site preparation, excavation, and sewer installations  

• Ameren environmental remediation projects - Site preparation and excavation of over 600,000 tons 

• Foundation installation and demolition on multiple utility substations 

• Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) - multiple sewer line installations and earthwork 

• Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) - includes work on roads and bridges in and around the St. Louis Metro Area 

Mr. Howard attended the University of Illinois on a football scholarship and prior to graduating in 1994, earned accolades that include: First Time All-Big Honors for four years, two-time Consensus All-American, two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the year, All-Time Tackling Leader for Illinois, "Big Ten" Football Conference inclusion, and the prestigious Dick Butkus Award (1994). Upon graduating, he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and played in the NFL for five years. Mr. Howard believes that the lessons of team work he learned while playing at U of I are applicable to the daily operations of Zade.